Navy Nukes

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Comment by Tim on January 9, 2014 at 7:22am

Thanks B'sNukemom&dad(Proto Hold Bs) for the info. Got the call last night that Medical had released him after 3 weeks in THU (there wasn't an issue) so now he is out to Charleston. The posts here are great and very informative. Thanks!

Comment by Ric Pallson on January 8, 2014 at 8:59pm

What I remember when my daughter was in prototype, was that she only phoned every 3 weeks for a while.  Those crazy rotating shifts. Now, in the fleet, the hours can be "interesting" at times.

Ballston Spa -- sometimes there's snow there Dec-March.  Be prepared to shovel some snow before driving to work. Wasn't there a Winter Olympics near there back in '80?

Goose Creek -- those old subs, called MTS (Moored Training Ships) can get kind of humid inside, sitting in the river as they are in that Low Country humidity, with all those Nuc trainees moving in and out (and sometimes sweating for various reasons)

Comment by lsdemme2001 on January 8, 2014 at 3:56pm

I think the worst thing about Prototype was the fact that you have completed all of the very difficult schooling and made it to prototype...but you can easily still be washed out of the Nuke program even after all of the hard work and schooling.  My son had a room mate who was washed out with only two weeks left in prototype!  He had no disciplinary problems and was working hard to be a nuke.  Two weeks to go before finishing and he was washed out because they felt he just did not have what it takes to be a successful nuke. Over two years of schooling and training and then he is removed from the program just before finishing prototype. Imagine how crushing that must have been.  It shook my son up and made him realize just how special it is to make it through this program in its entirety.  

Comment by Bubblehead on January 8, 2014 at 1:17pm

Yeah, falsifying logs/records is the short path to being de-nuked.  I was the Engineering Watch Supervisor on a sub when I discoverd a watchstander had falsified his logs.  I had him immediately relieved & reported him to his chief.  He never stood another watch and was removed from the boat.

Comment by B'sNukemom&dad⚓️MM on January 8, 2014 at 1:17pm

It's starting to make a little more sense now - thanks for the input.

Comment by lsdemme2001 on January 8, 2014 at 1:00pm

Just to give you an example, I recall that my son was extremely frustrated while there because they were shut down for over a month at one point. My memory is fuzzy but I think it had to do with another team falsifying some checklist records or something.  They were discovered and some high ranking officers got involved and an investigation followed that necessitated all reactor training come to an absolute standstill for everyone at the site.  It was taken extremely seriously and nothing, and i mean absolutely nothing, moved forward until the suspension of activities was lifted at the conclusion and resolution of the issue.  It was indeed very frustrating for my son at the time. They had numerous shutdowns while he was there and they ranged from a few days to many weeks.    

Comment by Brian E. Moore on January 8, 2014 at 12:58pm

Also from what I am told it's basically 2 old nuclear subs and that's where all their training takes place. I was told they are live reactors (when they're up. lol) but do not provide any energy for the area.

Comment by Bubblehead on January 8, 2014 at 12:49pm

They don't provide power to the grid.  The only time I'm aware of that happening is in the early days when a test reactor in Idaho provided power to the town of Arco (I think) as a publicity stunt.

There are 2 reasons to not provide power:

1.  The reactors are up & down all the time as part of their training purpose.

2.  The navy doesn't want to deplete the core and have to replace it, just for training purposes.  So, even when the reactor is critical, they run it at low power.

Comment by lsdemme2001 on January 8, 2014 at 12:48pm

I really do not recall if it is a working reactor or not.  I do know that they treat it like one though.  If a team does something that is not procedure they take it very very serious.  For instance if they are working on shutdown or startup procedures, or just proper monitoring, and something is discovered that was not followed as prescribed, there is a thorough investigation and all training stops until the issue is thoroughly vetted and resolved.  Your nuke will be at the mercy of EVERY single other Nuke doing their job absolutely 100% correctly.  If they don't, and they are discovered, you can expect a shutdown and delays.  

Comment by B'sNukemom&dad⚓️MM on January 8, 2014 at 12:33pm

Thanks Isdemme2001!

So does this reactor actually provide energy for NY or is it just a training reactor?  I'm not real familiar with the whole reactor thing and nuclear energy.  Guess I should start learning!

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